DR1 Daily News - Tuesday, 2 May 2017

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President to help coffee growers
Congratulations on Labor Day
Air Force to receive higher salaries
President Danilo Medina vetoes for second time Penal Code for abortion clauses
Advances in trade between DR and Panama 
David Collado seeks help from Miami city government
Agriculture destroyed by the heavy rains
Infrastructure destruction due to rains
No water in Boca Chica
Air Force search for missing family
Army colonel confronts PRD legislator 
Femicide numbers down
Leonel Fernandez warns of need for support for Haiti
Track and field course brand new at Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Stadium
FIFA president visits 
Benefit for those with Special Needs at the Country Club
La gemela de mi mujer at the Sala Ravelo
Cuban music at the National Theater



President to help coffee growers
On Sunday, 30 April 2017, President Danilo Medina announced an investment of RD$2 billion for the Association of Coffee Producers Project that works with growers in the communities of Polo, Paraíso and Enriquillo in southwestern Barahona.

In his usual Sunday visit, Medina said this investment would benefit 1,800 coffee growers or around 7,200 when the families of the beneficiaries are included. He said that the financing will be expanded to include another 2,000 tareas (1 tarea = 629 square meters). Medina mentioned that the additional financial resources (in a form of a loan) may be provided by the International Development Bank (IDB).  But if IDB does not approve the loan package, the Dominican government would find another way to fund the project.

He also announced that the government would work with local communities to reforest lands near the source of the Nizaito River. The government will establish six nurseries to produce plants that will be used in the reforestation project. President Medina instructed the planting of 8,000 tareas with native species of cedar, oak, mahogany, almond, palm heart and silky oak.

The coffee project includes the planting of 54,000 tareas of coffee varieties that are resistant to coffee blight. The project plans to train farmers in new coffee production techniques. Finally, President Medina promised to order the repair of 70 km of secondary roads in the region.

The President was accompanied by Administrative Minister of the Presidency, José Ramón Peralta; Agriculture Minister Ángel Estévez; Environment Minister, Francisco Domínguez Brito, among others.

http://listindiario.com/la-republica/2017/05/01/464010/el-gobierno-invertira-en-produccion-de-cafe


Congratulations on Labor Day
On Labor Day in the Dominican Republic on Monday, 1 May 2017, President Danilo Medina offered congratulations to Dominican workers. Speaking on the occasion, he mentioned that during his first administration, from 2012-2016, some 480,930 jobs were created and unemployment was reduced from 7% to 5.2%. He said that 1,072,400 Dominicans were lifted out of poverty and another 480,692 were lifted out of extreme poverty.

Medina added that the labor conditions had also improved with a large part of the population enjoying decent wages and better social welfare.

He highlighted the case of teachers in which more than 92,000 teachers received salary increases of between 66% and 74%. He said physicians had also received wage increases of 25%. 

http://almomento.net/danilo-medina-felicita-trabajadores/311477


Air Force to receive higher salaries
The head of the Dominican Air Force, Major General Luis Napoleón Payán Díaz has announced a salary increase for its members starting in July 2017.

He did not announce the amount of the increase, and only confirmed that as stated by the President Danilo Medina and the Minister of Defense, Lieutenant General Rubén Paulino Sem, that they would receive an increase from that date.

The announcement was made during a visit to the Northern Command of the Air Force in Puerto Plata where he handed over food, helmets and light reflective equipment to officers.  

http://almomento.net/anuncian-un-aumento-salarial-para-miembros-de-la-fuerza-aerea-de-la-rd/311693


President Danilo Medina vetoes for second time Penal Code for abortion clauses
President Danilo Medina returned to the Senate the Penal Code requesting changes in articles 107 and 110 on abortion. Medina has argued that abortion should not be penalized in the cases of rape, incest or congenital malformations, or when the life of the mother is in danger. 

Several organizations, including the Dominican Gynecology and Obstetrics Society, the Dominican Medical Association, the National Association of Private Clinics (Andeclip), the director of the National Health Serivce (SNS), among others had objected the Senate decision to penalize abortion without exceptions in the country. 

http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2016/12/20/presidente-medina-volvio-observar-codigo-por-aborto


Advances in trade between DR and Panama 
Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas and the Minister of Industry and Commerce of Panama, Augusto Arosemena, signed on Friday, 28 April 2017, an agreement for expanded trade. The two countries have a Partial Scope Agreement (PSA) in effect since 1987 with provisions for around 200 products. 

The new trade agreement framework comes as new negotiations and an expansion of fair trade are unfolding that will contribute to development and creating of jobs in both countries. A Permanent Mixed Commission is entrusted with adopting decisions on the inclusion of new products, and amendments to prior concessions. The ministers see this as an opportunity to develop exports in agricultural commodities and processed goods, seafood, and manufactured products. 

Trade between both countries in 2015 was US$107 million. Dominican exports to Panama increased 29% in 2015 compared to 2010. 

The countries agreed to present proposals for products to be included or excluded as well as proposals for the amendment to the trade agreement ruling within the next three months of the signing of the agreement framework. 

The coordinator for the Dominican Republic will be Belkis Yermenos Brache, who is in charge of bilateral negotiations and Hugo Rivera, deputy minister for economic affairs and international cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Relations. For Panama, Luis H. Garrido, director of international trade negotiations and Daiana Salazar, deputy minister for international trade negotiations will lead the Panamanian team of negotiators.  

http://www.mirex.gob.do/medios/noti...tira-comercializacion-productos-de-ambos-pais


David Collado seeks help from Miami city government
National District Mayor David Collado was in Miami last week to receive the keys of the city of Miami from Mayor Tomas Regalado and renew the agreement that established Santo Domingo and Miami as sister cities. Collado is seeking cooperation with Miami in a several areas, including improving garbage collection and training for the municipal police. 

http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2017/04/27/david-collado-recibe-llaves-ciudad-miami


Agriculture destroyed by the heavy rains
More than 5,000 tareas (1 tarea = 629 square meters) of rice, plantains, cassava, corn, cocoa and other farm products have been destroyed by the recent heavy rains that have flooded several agricultural areas in Bonao, San Francisco de Macoris and La Vega. In addition, land planted as pasture for livestock has also been destroyed in the municipalities of Maimon and Piedra Blanca. 

Technicians from the Ministry of Agriculture are carrying out an audit of the losses, which are expected to be in the millions of pesos.  The vegetable sector was especially hard hit as the majority of the produce was ready for harvest when the rains came. 

The municipalities most affected in Duarte province are Villa Riva, Arenoso, Pimentel, La Reforma, Barraquito, Paraguay, Cristal, Los Peynados, las Coles and Guaraguao.

In Jarabacoa, La Vega province, hundreds of tareas planted with tayota, potatoes, onions, cabbage and lettuce have been affected in the municipal district of Manabao as well as several roads and bridges as the rivers and streams flooded. In addition the aqueduct that serves Jarabacoa is out of service.

https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...truidas-en-el-cibao-por-las-lluvias-CE6969985


Infrastructure destruction due to rains
Recent heavy rains have caused major damage in Samaná province, where the whole municipality has flooded. Samana and Jarabacoa, in La Vega province, have been among the most affected areas. Many roads are impassable or been completely washed away and communities have been cut off, as overflowing rivers have destroyed many homes. 

Reports from Samaná on the flooding of the Malecón explain that lack of maintenance to a gully in the city resulted in this filling up with garbage that impeded its flow, leading instead to the flooding affecting the city. In Las Terrenas, the flooding of the city is attributed to the inexistent of appropriate drainage systems to channel heavy rainwaters. 

In addition, the Ministry of Public Works has closed access to San Cristóbal via the 6 November Highway as a preventive measure following the collapse of the side of the road and the flooding of the Yabaso River. As reported, the Haina River has reached levels close to the Haina Bridge. Reports also are of significant flooding in Monte Plata province, where the Samaná Juan Pablo II Highway has been closed off at times at different points due to the heavy rains. 

Meanwhile, transit has been blocked on roads that link Santiago to San José de las Matas, La Canela, Guatapanal, Amina, Mao and other locations due to the collapse of a bridge on the Herradura Road. In addition, technicians from the Ministry of Public Works travelled to Barahona province to assess the wide ranging damage there. There has been significant damage especially in Los Arroyos and Paraiso due to the overflowing of the Nizaito River. In Los Arroyos, in Polo there is also major damage due to the overflowing of the Breton River.

The director of the National Health Service (SNS) has warned that the rains and consequent lack of drinking water and electricity outages will lead to increased risk of diseases such as gastroenteritis, cholera, parasites, salmonella, typhoid and hepatitis and recommends hand washing, boiling water and adding bleach to the water. Also residents in river areas are advised not to walk barefoot nor bathe in the rivers.

The rains are expected to continue due to a weather trough moving over the northeast of the country. 
Diario Libre reported on the flooding of the Santo Domingo-Samaná Juan Pablo Duarte II Highway, despite the fact that the road was probably the most costly ever built in the country. 

In its Bulletin No. 30 issued on 6pm on Monday, 1 May 2017, the Center for Emergency Operations says that two provinces continue on red alert (Duarte and San Cristóbal), 14 on yellow alert and 8 on green alert. 

More than 2,818 homes have been affected and 14 houses completely destroyed.  While 14,090 people have had to leave their home.   Fifty seven communities have been cut off, 13 bridges, 23 roads, 67 aqueducts have been damaged and 728 people had to be rescued from the flood waters. Media reports say that many of the collapsed infrastructure is due precisely to the poor quality of the constructions. 

https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...deja-perdidas-millonarias-al-estado-KH6966059
http://listindiario.com/la-republica/2017/05/01/464022/lluvias-danan-23-carreteras
http://elnacional.com.do/obras-publ...a-san-cristobal-por-autopista-6-de-noviembre/
https://www.metrord.do/do/clima/201...lerta-lluvias-25-provincias-4-nivel-rojo.html
http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php/161671-Rain-Rain-and-More-Rain
http://coe.gob.do/index.php/boletines#


No water in Boca Chica
Twenty wells of the Brujuela Casui system are out of service in the Boca Chica area due to the rains causing rivers to overflow in San José de los Llanos where they are located.

This means that the municipality of Boca Chica is without water.  The Boca Chica Corporation of Aqueducts and Sewers is using water trucks to provide water for household use for residents until the problems are resolved.

The water supply problems are affecting 25 neighborhoods, the Las Americas Free Zone and the Las Americas International Airport. 

https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...a-boca-chica-esta-fuera-de-servicio-HG6976458


Air Force search for missing family
The Dominican Air Force continues to search for a boat that has gone missing since last Thursday, 28 April 2017, after leaving the port of Los Cacaos in northeastern Samaná with 10 members of a family on board. The boat had left on an excursion, despite the poor weather conditions. 

Colonel Freddy de Jesús Torres Polanco, director de Civil Military Operation for the Air Force, said that despite the poor weather, search operations had continued with the use of helicopters and airplanes as well as Navy boats. 

http://listindiario.com/la-republic...busqueda-de-familia-desaparecida-en-naufragio


Army colonel confronts PRD legislator 
The talk of the town over the long weekend was the Thursday, 27 April 2017 video that went viral showing an army colonel Edison Taveras Rodríguez a legislator who entered the Mirador del Sur Avenue when the later was cordoned off for runners. The Mirador del Sur Avenue for years has been restricted to vehicular use as it is used by runners and walkers in the morning, and is also known as La Avenida de la Salud. 

In the video, the colonel reprimands a lieutenant body guard of legislator Pedro Leonidas Abreu (PRD-San Cristobal) saying he should have apologized instead for entering the restricted area. The colonel said he was on service from 4am protecting the lives of those who go running on the avenue. 

As reported, the Chevrolet Tahoe black SUV of the legislator entered the restricted area of the Mirador del Sur avenue at high speed and was stopped by the colonel. 

On a TV interview with NCDN, Channel 37, Taveras Rodríguez called in to explain that as a military he was just following the rules. He said it is well known that the park is closed to vehicular traffic from 4am to 9am, and from 4pm to 9pm and on weekends all day. "Even my five year old daughter knows that," he said.

The PRD legislator accused the military of being drunk. He said the colonel impeded his passing utilizing a vehicle of the Ministry of Defense.  

Diario Libre dedicated its editorial to back the colonel and linked the situation to the impunity enjoyed by legislators that has lead citizens to enthusiastically back the Green Movement marches. “What Taveras cried out, even when he did not say so, is what many are calling out: “I am fed up of working from 4am so that you can get rich at our expense!”

http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2017/04/...ta-velocidad-area-restringida-del-mirador-sur
http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/201...ecibe-amplio-respaldo-por-redes-sociales.html
https://www.diariolibre.com/opinion/am/el-diputado-que-no-entendio-lo-que-pasaba-AH6977604


Femicide numbers down
According to the National Police, during the first three months of this year, there were 13 femicides, where women were killed by their spouses or former spouses. This compares to 29 during the same time period in 2016. 

The latest femicide took place in San Francisco de Macorís, on 26 April 2017, when 36-year old José Manuel Moya Marte killed his partner, Maria del Carmen Martinez Geronimo, aged 37, stabbing her to death following an argument.  

The 2017 femicides began on 1 January when a man killed his wife by clubbing her to death with sticks and then committed suicide in Hato Mayor.

http://listindiario.com/la-republic...s-registran-baja-este-ano-con-relacion-a-2016


Leonel Fernandez warns of need for support for Haiti
Former President Leonel Fernandez speaking in New York stated that the Dominican Republic cannot be the sole foreign government to address the problems in Haiti. Fernandez argued that due to the anticipated population increases in both halves of the island, by 2100, the Dominicans could lose their national identity if measures are not taken now. Fernandez said that by 2050 the national identity would begin to be eroded and by 2100 “our history, our culture and our identity, will have been lost”.

In his speech, entitled “Democracy, Modernity and Progress”, given at the Union League Club, Fernandez cited the case of the late Juliana Deguis, who criticized the Dominican Republic on the international stage, saying that the country was racist, anti-Haitian and that there were 300,000 Haitians born in the country but who were denied Dominican birth certificates.

He explained that although Deguis talked about the statelessness of the Haitians born in the Dominican Republic, it was an incorrect argument as no Dominican was ever stateless as the Constitution provides that children of Dominicans are Dominican, wherever they are born, jus sanguinis, the same as the Constitution of Haiti which establishes automatic Haitian citizenship for Haitians born abroad. 

Fernandez warned that the international community had to take responsibility for Haiti as the DR could not do it alone, and that the country was not going to sink alongside Haiti. He went on to say that the Dominican Republic has a population of almost 12 million, which was the same population figure in Haiti. By 2050, the population may well double in both countries.

Leonel stated that we understood that Haiti was a noble country with a great history and that the Dominican Republic was not racist and on the contrary was the most loving country in the world as it was a combination of black and white that gives the Dominican people the brown color of skin. 

Finally he stated that the 300,000 Haitians born in the country should get their birth certificates from the Haitian consul. 

https://www.diariolibre.com/mundo/e...de-haiti-porque-se-hundiria-tambien-MJ6975259


Track and field course brand new at Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Stadium
Jesus Requena, of the AST Sports, the company that installed the track at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Stadium for the Pan American Sports Games in 2003, says a new track has been installed that incorporates changes suggested by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF). He said two IAAF technicians have already come to certify the course. He said they are only awaiting their evaluation. 

The present restoration is guaranteed for 10 years.  Requena has recommended a resurfacing in eight years in order to extend the life of the track an additional 10 years. 

https://www.diariolibre.com/deporte...sta-solo-se-espera-por-informe-iaaf-EC6958273


FIFA president visits 
Visiting president of the International Football Association (FIFA) Gianni Infantino is hopeful the DR in the near future will qualify to play in the World Football Cup. He said FIFA contributes US$1,250,000 a year to develop football in the country, in addition to SU$170,000 in equipment and US$170,000 in travel expenses. 
Infantino visited the country, accompanied by the president of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF),Victor Montagliani and FIFA officers Jair Bertoni, Federico Raviglione, and Mattias Grafstron and Jean Moggio. 

The visitors met with directors of the 32 football schools in the country during an event held at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Stadium on Friday, 28 April 2017. They also met with also Sports Minister Danilo Diaz and president of the Dominican Olympic Committee. 

In the Dominican Republic, the football officers were hosted by Osiris Guzman, president of the Dominican Football Federation (Fedofutbol). Guzman said that the country is ready to host a sub17 and sub20 world cup. 

http://www.cibaofc.com/presidente-fifa-cree-futbol-rd-talento-la-pasion-ir-mundial/
http://www.7dias.com.do/deportes/20...cremento-programas-desarrollo-del-futbol.html


Benefit for those with Special Needs at the Country Club
Milly Quezada, Maridalia Hernandez, Johnny Ventura, Sergio Vargas and Fernando Villaona will be together on Tuesday, 9 May, at the Santo Domingo Country Club starting at 8pm. This “La Noche Azul por la Discapacidad” is a benefit for those with special needs serviced by programs of the foundations Nido para Angeles and Manuel Alvarez Reyes. 

Tickets: 809 475-9998, 809 540-1886 and 809 480-4659


La gemela de mi mujer at the Sala Ravelo
The comedy, “La gemela de mi mujer,” by Carlos Vega opens at the Sala Ravelo of the National Theater on Thursday, 11 May 2017. The show stars Evelyna Rodriguez and Leonardo Villalobos. Tickets at the National Theater box office for RD$1,000. Tel 8299-535-5620


Cuban music at the National Theater
Cuban singers Aymee Nuviola and Rey Ruiz present “A lo grande,” a symphonic presentation with the Santo Domingo Philarmonic Orchestra at the Carlos Piantini Hall of the National Theater. Wednesday, 10 May 2017, 8:30pm. Tickets are for sale online at Uepa Tickets and at Jumbo and Supermercados Nacional. 
http://www.aymenuviola.com/bio/

See more ongoing and upcoming events at http://www.dr1.com/calendar
 
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